Little Pretty Liars
by MikaylaRose
Summary: It's been 12 years since Emily Fields mysteriously left Rosewood and now the liars are reunited- however, their four middle children have not. Jesy, Frankie, Sara and Ashley have never exactly gotten along, but after witnessing the murder of their teacher, they are thrown together in more ways than one. You thought "A" was bad, wait until you meet her protégé "S". Next-Gen.
1. A Perfect Girl Is Lying

**Hello!  
So, I'm really sorry if someone has already done this idea- but I promise this will be very different. Basically, this is set about 20 years after the events of season 3, so in around 2033. It primarily focuses on the four middle children of the girls, however don't think I'm done with our original Liars. And, remember in a few months (when season 4 comes out) I'm sure most of this will become AU, so keep that in mind in future. Also, like everything in the PLL universe, things are always changing. So, if your favorite pair isn't exactly "together" at the start, remember that anything can happen later on... *runs away to avoid revealing any spoilers*.  
Hope you enjoy and please review if you can :)  
MikaylaRose x**

* * *

_Summer 2021_

**Preface**  
**A PERFECT GIRL IS ****LYING**

Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily never thought that one day they would be sitting on the back porch, soaking up the sun whilst watching their respective children playing in the backyard. Many years ago, it seemed like the future would never come for them and every day was a struggle to get through, but now everything was perfect.

"Spence I'm sorry about Wren," Hanna said suddenly, looking to her friend who seemed a little distant.

Spencer shifted a little in her chair, looking across the outdoor table to her other friends who looked as concerned as Hanna.

"I'm fine, everything is fine," Spencer responded, almost robotically.

"You don't have to put on a brave face for us, you know," Aria said quickly, and Spencer shook her head.

"No, I'm really fine," she answered. "It was falling apart anyway; we couldn't just keep on going like everything was happy and nice when it wasn't. We were only together because it was easier than actually being with the person we wanted to be with."

"I know how that feels," Aria said under her breath, only Emily hearing her statement.

Spencer looked over to the backyard of her house where four of their children were playing. Four girls: Aria's daughter was the oldest of them, born a year before Hanna and Emily's who were born around the same time and last was Spencer's', born about a year after the others. They were running around playing what looked like "cops and robbers", however Emily's daughter Sara seemed to always be the cop. Spencer worried about Sara- the other girls picked on her a lot, and she hoped it was just a phase. She had spoken to her own daughter Jessica many times about being nicer to her, but it was hard enough trying to convince a four year old to eat her vegetables let alone change her social interactions.

"Well, speaking of the person you wanted," Emily began, slowly and leaning forwards a little. "Word on the street is that Toby's coming back."

"From Europe? Really?" Spencer asked, her eyes glistening.

"Knew that would pep you up," Emily smiled and Spencer blushed a little.

"Hey… it would just be nice to see him again that's all," Spencer replied, taking a sip from her glass, suddenly feeling quite giddy.

As the day began to end, the other girls gathered their children and left the Kingston house. It was three weeks until Toby Cavanaugh returned to Rosewood, and after much hesitation, Spencer finally called her old boyfriend- Toby seeming just as excited as Spencer did to catch up. They agreed to meet at The Grill, and Spencer spent hours getting ready, borrowing one of Hanna's dresses and Aria's favorite earrings.

"Spencer, hey!" Toby smiled, as the brunette woman entered the café.

Spencer smiled- Toby just looked exactly the same as when she last saw him almost ten years ago.

They spoke for what seemed like hours, Spencer explaining her split from Wren and talking about her two daughters Paloma- who was nine- and Jessica. Then Toby launched into his time in England, having gained a qualification in landscaping and hoping to start up his own business.

Spencer couldn't stop smiling as they spoke- it was like he had never left. She suddenly peered down for a second and spied something on Toby's hand that took her by surprise.

"Toby… are you married?" Spencer asked, gazing at the ring around his ring finger.

"Oh… um… yeah," Toby informed her, shyly and hiding his ring with his other hand. "It's been a few months now."

Spencer smiled slightly, however part of her was crushed.

"Congratulations," she said, plainly. "What's she like?"

"Great, she'll be in Rosewood tomorrow morning," Toby explained, slowly. "You'd get along with her really well; she's smart, funny and is a lawyer."

"I'll bet," Spencer said, through gritted teeth. "What's her name?"

"Sabrina," Toby informed her and Spencer rolled her eyes.

They finished their meals and Toby insisted on paying, before Spencer quickly left, not even taking down Toby's new cell number. It was stupid of her to think that her old boyfriend would still be single- nor was it right for her to be mad with him, after all she got married less than a year after he left.

"I can't believe he's married!" Hanna exclaimed, leaning across her kitchen bench as she and the three girls discussed Spencer' date with Toby the next evening. "I mean, I never saw that coming- besides, I always thought you two would end up together."

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," Spencer replied, slightly sadly.

The three others looked at her with concerning eyes- none of them sure what the best thing to say was.

"Hey, anything's possible- Hanna and I ended up together."

The girls looked over as Hanna's husband Caleb entered the room, kissing his wife on the head before taking out some chips from the cupboard.

"Yeah but everyone knew you two would stay together," Aria exclaimed, "You're perfect for each other."

"If only," Hanna stated, suddenly touching her forehead and swaying a little.

"You okay?" Emily asked her, anxiously.

Caleb hurried over to her and took her hands, steadying her and feeling her suddenly warm forehead.

"Yeah, just been feeling a little woozy lately," Hanna replied, dazedly. "Must be something I ate."

After Caleb was sure his wife was okay, he left the room, Hanna being forced to drink about three glasses of water before he was satisfied. They sat down at the round table in the kitchen, each of them with their hands around a steaming hot cup of coffee.

"So are you going to see Toby again?" Aria asked Spencer, who shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "I saw him this morning on my way to work- met Sabrina for the first time."

"What's she like?" Emily asked.

"Does she have a massive wart on her nose like most witches do?" Hanna teased, taking a sip of coffee.

"No, she seemed really nice- unfortunately," Spencer informed them, plainly.

"Damn it," Hanna sighed, hopeful for her friend.

Suddenly, four ring tones went off at the exact same time, each of the girls looking at each other.

"Coincidence?" Emily proposed- the rest of them not as sure.

They hurried to their handbags on the kitchen bench and took out their cell phones, each of them looking down and reading the message in their heads: "_Ali's old burial site, ten minutes- hurry my little liars._"

They all looked up, each of them having received the same message.

"You don't think-?" Aria began, cutting herself off.

"It's not signed by anyone," Emily responded.

"Do we go?" Hanna asked, each of them seeming a little freaked out.

Spencer sighed, placing one hand on her forehead and the other up against the kitchen bench, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

"Almost ten years, almost ten years since anything," Spencer sighed, seeming visibly distressed by the message. "I thought we were free."

"This could be something else?" Emily pointed out, hopeful.

"It's never something else," Hanna countered, and the girls knew she was right.

They crept out of the house- not wanting to upset Caleb- and hopped into Hanna's car, the blonde driving the girls to the graveyard where so many of their misadventures had occurred before. They pulled up and locked the large SUV, the four of them slowly making their way towards the old grave site Emily, luckily enough remembering the way.

They reached the old gravestone, which still sat in front of the large hole in the ground with weeds and nettles all growing across it. It hadn't been touched in many years as no-one wanted anything more to do with Alison DiLaurentis after all that had happened.

"Now what?" Hanna asked, the four of them looking around the deserted landscape.

"We wait?" Aria proposed, trying to remain calm.

They waited for what seemed like hours, pacing around and jogging on the spot to remain warm. They felt like they were still a piece of a puzzle in someone else's game and it sickened each of them. Just as Spencer started insisting they leave, a figure approached them from up ahead, wearing a dark coat and a hood covering their face.

"Look!" Aria cried, pointing towards the figure as they approached them.

They moved cautiously back, slowly backing away as the figure walked further towards them, walking slowly past Ali's old open grave- each of the girls beginning to panic.

"Who are you!? What do you want?!" Hanna exclaimed, the four of them suddenly frozen with fear.

They felt more scared now than they ever had before and it was more than likely due to the fact they hadn't faced this sort of thing in a long time. It was like the beginning all over again.

The figure kept walking towards them before it stood almost right in front of the open grave. They were just about to lower their hood, when Emily stepped on something. She looked around, spying a long shovel lying across the ground. She quickly picked it up as the figure began to walk towards them again, reaching for something in their jeans pocket.

"We warned you!" Emily cried, stepping forwards and before she knew it, she had hit the figure right across the head.

The girls screamed- even Emily- who immediately dropped the shovel as the figure stumbled backwards, drowsy and confused before they tripped over their own feet and fell into the open grave, landing in the dirt.

"Em… what did you do?" Spencer cried, the whole graveyard falling silent.

Emily's eyes widened and she lifted her hands to cover her mouth, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I-I-I don't know," she stammered, the girls moving towards her and wrapping their arms around her.

They remained in a circle for a while, shaking with fear before they parted, arms linked as they edged towards the grave, peering over the edge to see a woman lying in the grave, the hood having fallen of her face to reveal someone Spencer immediately recognized.

"Let's get out of here," Spencer ordered, quickly.

She took up the shovel and wiped it off on her jacket before throwing it down beside the figure, the others looking at her boggled.

"She's hurt, we have to get help!" Hanna cried, sternly.

"After all that's happened in the past Hanna, we need to realize no-one is going to be on our side," Spencer exclaimed. "We'll all be convicted- without trial no doubt, and our children will have criminals for mothers."

"But we're already criminals, everybody knows that," Emily stammered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yeah but people are forgetting," Spencer told them. "Hopefully, by the time the girls are older no-one will even remember what happened all those years ago- and if people found out about this now, it would bring up all those memories."

"Spencer I-"

"No Hanna! I won't have my girls knowing what I've done!" Spencer yelled, her eyes starting to water now too. "Now let's just get the hell out of here."

With that, Spencer led the girls away from the site, the four of them running back through the graveyard to Hanna's car and tearing off into the night, leaving the body and the girls' new secret behind.


	2. New Lies

_Winter 2033_

**1**  
**NEW LIES**

"You ready?"

Sara Fields shook herself out of her daydream and looked at her surroundings. They had been driving for so long, she had barely noticed they had stopped.

She held down the button causing the car window to roll down and she looked at the house they had stopped in front of. It was a sweet dark bricked house, with thatched windows and a dark blue roof. The garden was green and very alive- being one of the many newly built houses in Rosewood, it was to be expected.

"Yeah mom," Sara answered slowly, looking over at her mother and smiling, her mother smiling reassuringly back at her.

"I know you didn't want to leave California, but you do understand why we had to, right?" her mother stated, for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"I know mom, I understand," Sara replied. "It's just... going to be a lot for me to adjust to."

"You and me both kiddo," her mother finished, raising her dark eyebrows.

With that, mother and daughter stepped out of the car just in time for the large moving van to pull up behind them.

"Wanna look inside?" her mother proposed, looking to her daughter who seemed very distant. "You can choose your bedroom."

"Sure," Sara replied, half-heartedly.

Her mother handed her the house keys before heading over to greet the moving men leaving Sara to open the house. She made her way along the stone path and up the three wooden stairs, along the front porch before reaching the door, unlocking it and swinging the door open.

That "new-house" smell immediately hit Sara as she slowly walked inside, surveying the front hallway, which led to the living room. The floors were dark and tiled and the walls were the purest white. She moved to the stairs and hurried up, looking along the second floor landing. There were only four doors leading two bedrooms, a bathroom and a study.

Sara sighed loudly, walking along the landing and opening the furthest door. The room was very large and had a giant window that overlooked most of the street. She moved aside the white curtains and peered out, first looking down to her mother who was helping the cute moving men get everything ready to bring inside. She then looked out over the street, noticing that many people had come out to their own front porches to watch them move in. At first, Sara felt this was strange, but then she remembered something her mother told her: Rosewood was a strange place, and so far, that seemed to ring true.

She eventually returned downstairs to help her mother move their furniture into the house, declaring her desire to have the room with the large window. After a few hours, the furniture was all in, and her mother paid the moving men before mother and daughter sat down in the living room, exhausted.

"What would I do without you sweetie?" her mother exclaimed, smiling.

"Very little," Sara stated, plainly.

They smiled at one another, before a tap at the door interrupted them.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is," Sara pleaded, looking suddenly even more miserable.

"Look, you haven't seen them since you were four," her mother informed her, beginning to stand up. "Things will be different now, I promise. You are stronger and so am I. Besides, it's not like we can avoid them, this is a small town remember."

"Isn't that why we left in the first place?" Sara pointed out, sitting back in the sofa and crossing her arms.

Her mother ignored her statement before walking over to the front door and opening it, revealing three broadly smiling women: one with short, choppy blonde hair, one with long flowing brown hair and one with dark hair with big feathers woven in her ponytail.

"EMILY!" they cried in unison, the three of them practically falling onto their old friend and wrapping her arms around her.

"Guys, what are we, five years old?" Emily cried, laughing.

They broke apart, but none of them could stop grinning.

"It's so amazing to see you," Spencer Cavanaugh beamed, her eyes glistening. "You look fantastic!"

"I'm so jealous," Hanna Rivers observed, crossing her arms. "I mean, I've got thunder thighs the size of The Empire State Building and you look like you're still twenty years old!"

"I knew I should have joined the swimming team!" Aria Strauss finished.

"No, you were right not to," Emily responded, quickly, "My skin literally reeks of chlorine now and it's destroyed my hair."

"Are you greying yet?" Hanna cried, quickly.

Emily laughed a little, shaking her head.

"Not yet, but I dread the day," Emily responded.

"Damn it!" Hanna exclaimed, causing Aria and Spencer to laugh.

"Why?" Emily asked Hanna, inquisitively.

"Hanna found her first grey hair last week," Spencer informed her, grinning wickedly and Emily laughed.

"This is terrible!" Hanna cried. "I'm having a mid-life crisis!"

"Do you even know what a 'mid-life crisis' is?" Spencer asked.

"Of course I do, I did learn stuff in High School you know," Hanna responded, sternly. "It's a bad thing that happens to you when you're in mid-life?"

The three other laughed, causing Hanna to look confused.

"What!? That's right isn't it?" Hanna demanded, sourly.

Emily couldn't stop smiling. Secretly, she had been a little apprehensive about seeing the girls again, after all, it had been over ten years since she left Rosewood and she wasn't sure what sort of reception she would get now that she was back. Luckily, her friends seemed to have moved on from what happened the last time she saw them.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" Emily asked, peering around the others who nodded.

Coming up the front path, looking very uncomfortable walked three teenage girls, all around the same age and none of them seeming like they wanted to be there. They looked up at Emily's sentence and all applied a fake smile before stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

"Can you girls at least pretend to want to be here please," Hanna snapped, crossly.

Emily walked out to the porch and down to the girls, bewildered.

"You guys got so big!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yeah, kids do that," the dark brown haired one snapped, and Spencer glared at her.

"Jesy is that really necessary?" Spencer demanded, and her daughter rolled her eyes.

"It's fine, it was a stupid statement anyway," Emily insisted to Spencer, walking along the line. "So, we've got Jesy, Ashley and Francesca right?"

"Actually it's Frankie," the light haired girl at the end informed her, pushing her dark rimmed glasses up her nose.

"Francesca is too mainstream," Jesy smirked and Frankie glared at her.

"Really? You're going to do this now?" Frankie demanded.

"Girls!" Hanna barked, sternly.

The three girls looked at one another, the two at either end glaring at one another again whilst the middle girl with dirty blonde hair just sighed and crossed her arms impatiently.

"Well, come on inside," Emily insisted, walking back up the porch and leading everyone into the living room where Sara was still sitting.

"Oh my God, it's little Sara!" Hanna beamed, looking down at the black haired girl who stood up to greet them. "Let me hug you!"

Hanna raced over and wrapped her arms around the uncomfortable teenager.

"You know, I remember when you were first born," Hanna told her, slightly creeping her out. "You were soo chubby and I swear you had like red hair."

Sara laughed uncomfortably, slightly unsure what to say.

"Thank you," she managed, before Hanna took a seat beside Aria who was on the left sofa.

Sara looked over to the three teenage girls who had just walked inside, surveying the house closely first before spying Sara. They looked exactly how she thought they would: Jesy with her short, thin dark brown hair and slightly pointed face, Ashley with her long, curly dirty blonde hair and pasty skin and lastly Frankie, still wearing her glasses with her dead straight light brown hair.

"Sara, why don't you show the girls around the house?" Emily offered, noticing the teenagers uncertain looking faces.

Sara looked to her mother, hoping she would see the lack of enthusiasm in her eyes before Emily shook it off.

"Fine," Sara hissed, before slowly walking towards the girls who didn't seem too thrilled at the idea.

Sara led the three girls upstairs and gestured to each room, before reaching her own bedroom, none of them really saying much back to her.

"…and this is my room," Sara explained, showing the girls inside her nearly finished bedroom, a pile of boxes still sitting on her bed.

"Cool window," Ashley commented, walking over to the window and sitting down in the seat Sara had put in front of it. "You can see the whole street from here."

"Well technically you can't," Frankie stated, firmly. "The street curves around the end, so the angle wouldn't be right. You can see about 85% of the street from here."

"Gee Frankie, thanks for that correction," Jesy responded, sarcastically. "Why don't you head down to the kindergarten and tell the kids all about Santa, clear up a few things for them too."

Jesy and Frankie glared at each other again, the two seeming to butt-heads at every possible statement.

"So, how do you feel to be back in Rosewood?" Ashley asked Sara, who was standing by her bed, ignoring the two glaring girls.

"Okay... I don't really remember much from when I was younger," Sara answered, simply.

"Convenient," Jesy smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sara asked, puzzled.

"No, it's just you don't remember your mom ditching our moms," Jesy informed her, maliciously.

"She didn't ditch your moms, she got a job," Sara responded.

"Is that what she told you?" Jesy asked, quickly.

"Jesy, don't," Frankie warned.

"What? She should know," Jesy snapped, looking to Sara. "Your mom and our moms were having some problems. So, instead of standing by them, she took you and ran away. That's right, your mom is one giant chicken and our moms had to deal with it themselves."

"Deal with what!?" Sara demanded, suddenly beginning to understand why Frankie didn't get along with her that well.

Jesy went to respond, but stopped, looking slightly foolish before crossing her arms again and pouting a little.

"Well… I don't know what the problem was exactly, but it was still not cool for her to do that," Jesy stammered, trying to still sound in control.

The room fell silent, Jesy glaring at Sara who just seemed confused.

"This was a terrible idea, I'm leaving," Frankie said suddenly, turning around and practically running out of the room.

"Me too, I got better things to do," Jesy exclaimed, storming out of the room also.

"Bye Sara," Ashley finished, walking out as well.

Sara sighed again, holding onto one of the columns of her four poster bed and thinking back to what Jesy had said. Was she serious? Did her mother really run out on the others? After all, her mother never really spoke about her life in Rosewood?

Eventually Sara made her way downstairs, seeing Hanna, Spencer and Aria in the front doorway all quickly saying goodbye to Emily so they could probably go after their daughters.

"It would be great if they could all get along," Emily said to her friends, slowly.

"They could be just like us," Aria added.

"Would that be good or bad?" Spencer asked, looking at the others who shrugged their shoulders. "Anyway, we better go."

The girls all hugged Emily goodbye before they walked off, Emily closing the door as Sara stepped into the front hallway. Emily turned around and gestured at Sara.

"What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"They stormed out," Sara informed her, plainly.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, they just did," Sara replied. "Besides, they didn't want to be here- they're not that close anymore anyway"

"We were hoping you could bring them together-"

"Why? So they can bully me like that used to?" Sara demanded, quickly. "Look mom, I want nothing to do with those girls and they don't seem to want anything to do with me either, okay?"

"Okay," Emily responded sadly, before walking off into the kitchen, "I'm going to get dinner started-"

"Hey mom!" Sara called.

Emily stopped and peered around at her daughter.

"Yes?"

"Why did we leave Rosewood?" Sara asked, suddenly.

Emily looked a little taken-back.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Emily stopped and breathed in deeply.

"We just weren't happy here," Emily answered, "and I got a job in California, so it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Thanks," Sara answered, however not convinced.

With that, her mother returned to the kitchen, Sara slowly sitting down on the bottom step. Jesy had said there was some kind of problem- and not that Sara would ever trust Jesy, she did seem really certain… no way. Sara shook the thought away. She trusted her mother much more than Jesy- after all; her mother wasn't liar, right?

* * *

**Thanks for everyone who has read/followed/favorited so far! Don't forget to review please! x**


	3. Unexpected Surprises

**2**  
**UNEXPECTED SURPRISES**

Frankie Strauss hit the alarm, the clock stopping as she rolled over and noticed the time: 6:30- the beginning of the Strauss schedule. She quickly got out of bed and hurried over to her wardrobe, taking out her pre-arranged outfit for the first day back at school: a white shirt below a trendy black blazer plus a flared grey skirt, tights and black boots. She showered, changed and headed downstairs, brewing coffee and making some toast before sitting down alone with her food.

"I know I'm your mother, but Frank you are so weird."

Frankie looked over as her mother Aria walked into the room wearing a navy dressing gown, whilst her eyes struggled to stay open.

"Is it a crime to be prepared?" Frankie pointed out, taking a bite of her toast. "And don't call me Frank- it makes me feel like a gym instructor or something."

"Would you prefer your full name?" Aria asked, as she swung open the refrigerator. "Francesca Ella-Jane Strauss?"

"Not that either please," Frankie pouted.

"Hey, I was the one who named you missy," Aria pointed out, smiling. "I decide what I call you. Or I could revert back to pumpkin, like I used to call you as a child?"

Frankie sighed, beginning to eat her toast a bit faster as she realized she was a bit behind schedule. She picked up her cell phone that was sitting beside her at the table and un-locked it, scrolling to her day-planner and ticking off the things she had already done. Frankie liked to plan- planning equals being prepared and if there was one thing that Frankie wasn't, it was unprepared.

"I hope you haven't got anything in your day-planner at 7:30 tonight," her mother suddenly said, sitting down beside her daughter at the table with toast and coffee. "Austin's coming home remember, and we're going to have a family dinner."

Frankie looked down to her planner and smiled.

"I already have it booked in," Frankie stated and Aria shook her head, taking a sip of coffee.

"Whilst I adore how prepared you always are," Aria began, slowly. "You should try and be a little more spontaneous this year, you know? Maybe make some friends? It's your senior year honey and you've got… well, one friend and that's Ashley."

"Ashley isn't my friend," Frankie said quickly. "She just hangs out with me when her little cheerleaders are away. And besides, she's a year below me remember, that would be weird."

"You _are_ weird," Aria stated, playfully.

"Thanks mom," Frankie replied, sarcastically.

Frankie was never one for friends, and to be honest she didn't really mind. Friendships just made things complicated and furthermore would potentially diverge her off her schedule, which was not acceptable. Frankie hadn't had friends since she was four years old and if she could, she would go back and erase that friendship from history. There was no way she and Jesy Kingston would ever be friends again.

"Morning ladies!"

"Morning dad."

"Morning honey."

Frankie watched as her father dove into the room, his brown eyes glistening as he practically danced over to the kitchen and started making himself breakfast.

"I'm thinking we should make a banner for Austin when he gets home," Holden proposed, giddily as he held the piece of bread he was preparing to toast in his hand. "You know, right across the hallway so it's the first thing he sees when he comes home."

"Dad he's turning 21, not 12," Frankie reminded him, causing Aria to smile.

"Yeah but we've got to give him something for coming home," Holden exclaimed, joyfully. "He's graduated college! He's starting his life as an official adult."

"I'll be an official adult at the end of the year, will I get a banner?" Frankie asked.

"Of course! You'll get five- all in bright pink!" Holden teased, Frankie rolling her eyes.

"I hate pink," Frankie stated, finishing her last bit of coffee and preparing to stand up.

Holden darted around and lent close to his daughter, kissing her on the head.

"I know you do," he joked and Frankie shook her head disapprovingly.

With that Frankie stood up and continued her morning routine, going back upstairs and doing her hair and make-up, both looking very practical and mature before she picked up her pre-packed school bag and recited her class schedule before making her way downstairs.

"Okay, just give me two seconds," Aria stammered, clambering together the last few things she needed from the kitchen before hurrying into the main hallway where her daughter was waiting. "Let's go."

They opened the front door and were faced with the one thing Frankie felt she couldn't control- the pouring rain.

"Naturally," Frankie stated, groaning a little.

Her mother drove her to school and dropped her almost right out the front so there was less of a dart to the main doorway. As Frankie was getting out of the car, her mother pulled her back.

"Frankie, just think about what I said, okay?" her mother insisted, softly. "Just… try and make some friends? It's your senior year; it doesn't all have to be about doing things by the book."

"Yes because you were always having adventures at seventeen weren't you mom?" Frankie asked, after all, her mother was just as boring as she was.

"Try sixteen," her mother answered, all too quickly.

"Whatever," Frankie sighed, shaking her head.

She stepped out of the car and dashed towards the front doors of Rosewood High, covering her hair with her hands. She stepped through the front doors and wiped her arms and legs off, suddenly hearing sniggering from nearby. She looked over where Jesy and her two blonde followers Kara and Sophia were leaning up against some nearby lockers.

"Nice look," Jesy commended, sarcastically. "What are you going for? Drenched yak?"

With that, her little friends laughed loudly and Jesy raised her eyebrows at Frankie.

"At least my look is original, and not taken straight out of last month Vogue magazine," Frankie countered, quickly. "Page 13, about halfway down. I believe the model had blonde hair."

Jesy glared down at her, whilst her friends looked a little confused. Jesy always boasted that she was the fashion leader of Rosewood and that she designed all of her own clothes- Frankie of course, knew otherwise. It was obviously from the stitching and patterns that all of her clothes were purchased.

"Well… it looks like the fashion world finally admires my talent," Jesy stammered, walking over to Frankie and standing close to her, lowering her voice to a wicked hiss, "do not cross me Strauss, I will bring you down."

"I can already feel that Hastings burn," Frankie countered, completely unafraid of her foe. "And you want to know the best bit, its barley even marking."

Jesy shook her head a little, before tossing her long dark brown hair over her shoulder and strutting off down the hallway, her cronies dashing after her leaving Frankie fuming.

That was not in the schedule for this morning.

"What a bitch."

Frankie looked around to see Sara Fields standing beside her, having just walked into the school and seeing the argument. She was wearing a zebra striped coat over a black dress and fishnet stockings with large boots- not the sort of look that would have blended in in California.

"That's just Jesy," Frankie responded, plainly.

"So, she definitely hasn't changed," Sara pointed out and Frankie shook her head.

"No, she's gotten worse," Frankie countered and Sara nodded.

There was an awkward moment between the two, neither of them really wanting to talk to each other however they had no-one else to talk to either.

"Did you… err… want a tour?" Frankie offered, eventually.

"Sure, that'd be great," Sara smiled, slightly uneasy.

Frankie led Sara along the main corridor, the students in passing practically ignoring Frankie in favor to checkout Sara- the new meat. The school wasn't shabby, but it's wasn't anything like Sara's school in California- furthermore she wasn't used to wearing casual to school, as she had previously wore uniforms.

"So what year were you in again?" Frankie asked, noticing the timetable Sara was currently looking over.

"Junior," Sara responded. "You were always a bit older right?"

"Yeah, this is my senior year," Frankie replied, slowly.

"You must be really excited," Sara stated, slightly jealous.

"No, I'm terrified," Frankie replied firmly and suddenly pausing in the hallway.

"Why?" Sara asked, pausing and looking around as the confident Frankie suddenly looked sad.

Frankie stared off into space for a while, before shaking herself out of it and looking to Sara.

"I think you'll been fine now" Frankie said, quickly changing the subject. "I gotta go to class, good luck with today."

Frankie then hurried off in the opposite direction, leaving Sara in the middle of the corridor a little confused. Talking to Sara was not in her schedule, and besides it wasn't like she was going to tell Sara that she was absolutely terrified of going to college next year- in fact, she was almost hoping she could fail senior year over and over again and never leave. Frankie had never been good with starting new things.

She arrived at her new homeroom and sat down in the front row, looking down at her schedule and ticking off the things she had done, having to add her conversation with Sara in it because the fact that it happened and she didn't record it was annoying her.

"Good morning homeroom, how are we all this morning?"

Frankie looked up as a woman who looked around the same age as her parents walked in. Frankie had never seen her before, but she wore a sleek black dress and matching heels and her brown hair was perfectly straight. She walked up to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk, writing her name in the very center of the board and underlining it: MS MARSHALL.

"As you can see, I am Ms Marshall, you're new homeroom teacher," Ms Marshall announced, the room slowly falling silent. "But I don't want you to think of me as your teacher, I want to be like your friend, okay? So if you want to talk to someone, or need help with something, my door is always open."

Ms Marshall looked over the room and smiled at everyone, her eyes eventually reaching Frankie and she gave her a knowing look before turning around to pick up the attendance sheet, beginning to call out the students names. Frankie was taken back. She had never met or seen Ms Marshall before, but it was almost as if she had somehow.

"Francesca Strauss?" Ms Marshall called, and Frankie raised her arm. "You're Aria's daughter, right?"

Frankie nodded, uncertainty.

"How do you know my mother?" Frankie asked.

"It's Rosewood honey, everyone knows your mother," Ms Marshall answered, plainly. "When you get home, tell her Jenna says hi."

Ms Marshall then moved straight onto the next student, acting as if the whole, strange conversation had never happened.

The day trudged on as it usually did, but Frankie couldn't get her conversation with her homeroom teacher out of her head. What did she mean by everyone knew her mother? What did her mother do that was so special?

She continued to wonder this as she sat alone in the cafeteria, the rain pouring down outside as she slowly picked over her food. She spied Sara, also sitting alone on the other side of the cafeteria. For a second Frankie thought she should go join her, but she decided not to. There was suddenly a loud laugh and her eyes diverted to Jesy, sitting in the very center of the cafeteria, her arms wrapped around her jock boyfriend Tom. It was obvious the joke wasn't that funny considering no-one else at the table was really laughing, but it was even more obvious that Jesy just wanted everyone to look at her. Lastly, she saw Ashley sitting quietly in the corner with her friends, otherwise known as the cheerleading squad. Ashley always looked very out of place with the rest of the cheerleaders, who were preppy and slightly stupid whilst Ashley was always very quiet.

Frankie knew that her mother wanted her to make friends, but the problem was there was nobody like her. No-one who liked school, books and organizing things. She didn't belong anywhere in the school however she knew she would be even more of an outcast anywhere else.

Eventually the day ended, and she walked home, as it wasn't raining anymore. Her mother didn't finish her job at Hollis College until five and her dad was out buying stuff for her older brother, so she had the house to herself for a few hours.

She arrived home, changed her clothes and organized her room, before beginning to make dinner. It was only when she was halfway through cooking when her parents arrived home, her father furiously setting up the banners and balloons and her mother helping her with dinner. When dinner was just about ready and her father had finally finished, the doorbell rang.

"They're here!" Holden exclaimed happily and adjusting his jacket.

"Calm down honey, it's just Austin," Aria reminded him, smiling as they make their way towards the front door. "We saw him three months ago at his graduation."

"Yeah but I'm just so proud of him you know," Holden said, grinning before his wife lightly kissed him. "The world is his oyster! He has so much he can do!"

"I'll get the door shall I," Frankie stated, not wanting to listen to her father babble any longer.

The door slowly opened, and instead of seeing just one person at the door like expected, there were three. On the left stood Austin Strauss with his wavy brown hair like his father and chocolate brown eyes. Beside him stood a petite blonde woman wearing a long dress and holding the third person in her arms, a small baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Austin?" Holden asked, his jaw practically falling to the floor.

"Surprise dad," their oldest son beamed, looking first to the woman and then to the baby she was cradling, "Meet Laura and Jasmine, my girlfriend and daughter."


	4. Math? More Like Chemistry

**3**  
**MATH? MORE LIKE CHEMISTRY**

"Jesy it's been two days, how could you have failed something already!?"

Jesy Kingston looked up from her seat on the couch as her mother paced across the floor in front of her, looking completely boggled.

"I mean, I have three degrees and your father- when he decides to be- is a qualified doctor," Spencer Cavanaugh-Hastings informed her, crossly. "You have the Hastings DNA, how much more good qualities do you need!?"

"So you're saying I'm defective?" Jesy demanded sourly, crossing her arms.

"I knew I shouldn't have done all those underwater yoga classes when I was pregnant with you," Spencer said, sarcastically.

"Mom be serious!" Jesy snapped, and her mother looked at her. "Maybe I'm just, not as much like you as you want me to be."

"Impossible," Spencer argued. "When you were born, my mother said I looked just like you when I was a baby."

"Yeah, looks like, not am!"

"Yeah sweetie that statement doesn't even make sense," Spencer corrected, plainly and causing Jesy to sigh loudly.

Ever since she was a child, Jesy had been expected to exceed all expectations- after all, she had Hastings blood and Hastings never fail. Luckily for her, since her mother and father broke up four years ago and her mother re-married, the pressure hadn't been as bad, but that was as long as her stepfather was around.

"I'm home!" called a male voice, as a door closed and footsteps were heard throughout the house.

"Thank God," Jesy said, under her breath.

"We are not finished!" Spencer stated firmly and pointing at her daughter.

Spencer looked over as her second husband Toby Cavanaugh entered the living room, wearing a pair of worn jeans and a dark top with noticeable scratch marks across his arms.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Spencer asked, dashing over to him, kissing him quickly before looking at his arms. "What happened? Were you attacked by a tiger?"

"No, they had these horrible bushes against the fence that we had to remove," Toby answered, scrunching up his face. "Believe me, the tiger would have been easier. Hey Jesy, how was your second day at school?"

"It was-"

"Get this," Spencer cut off, hastily. "She failed something."

"Already?" Toby asked, shocked.

"Yeah, she had to submit a list of things she liked about school and she just wrote, 'nothing' across the top," Spencer exclaimed, clearly angered however after noticing Toby's lack of a response adding, "in crayon!"

"Nice one," Toby commended Jesy, causing Spencer to huff.

"Toby, this is serious," Spencer corrected, before turning to Jesy, "You've only got two more years at school and then you're own on your own. You can't sail through life writing things in crayon!"

"I can try," Jesy argued, plainly.

Spencer looked to Toby who shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to join the argument, which had occurred many times before.

"I have THREE children!" Spencer exclaimed, storming out of the room.

Jesy rolled her eyes. Her mother was so dramatic sometimes; she had no idea how Toby had put up with his since they were teenagers. Jesy stood up, making her way towards the stairs, aiming to get to her room and do anything else other than talk to her parents.

"Hey Jesy," Toby called, and she paused at the base of the stairs. "Just… do your best okay? That is all your mother wants of you. You're smarter than you think."

Jesy smiled a little before dashing upstairs, avoiding answering the question and shutting herself in her bedroom, collapsing down on her large white four poster bed. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed loudly. She was in no way smart- she never would be. Her mother had to face the facts; Jesy just wasn't like her older sister Paloma, who was almost a clone copy of Spencer.

Jesy rolled over and lent over the edge of the bed, fishing out her cell phone from her bag and unlocking it, looking through her stack of text messages before opening one in particular. It was from her boyfriend Tom that plainly read, "I love you."

Jesy smiled. Tom was too kind to be real. She had known him for about two years now, and he hadn't really shown any interest in anyone until she saw him clothes shopping during the holidays, the two of them bonding over their love for certain brands. At first Jesy found it strange how much he knew about clothes but since he had four sisters, she figured it was probably just what they had told him and he used it to pick up girls. Something she did question however was the fact that they had been dating since the start of the year and were yet to have sex. Not that Jesy really minded, however it seemed that the only guy in the whole of Rosewood high who didn't want to have sex with her, was her own boyfriend.

Suddenly her phone went off. She looked over and groaned- it was from her mother who was in the kitchen downstairs. Usually if someone in the house was mad at someone else they would communicate solely through text messages. Last year when Paloma and Spencer were in a disagreement, they communicated only through messages for almost three months.

The message plainly read: "I know you have math homework tonight. Finish it, now."

Jesy almost wanted to throw the phone across the room. She was so sick of her mother treating her like a five year old, telling her exactly what to do and when to do it. She had to get out of the house, there was no way she was going to be able to concentrate here with the internet just sitting right in front of her.

Jesy messaged back, "Can I go to The Grill to work on it, Professor?"

Almost immediately her mother responded, "Yes. But be back before tea and I want to see at least half of it done."

Jesy smiled a little. Clearly Toby had responded on behalf of Spencer- she loved her step-father sometimes.

She gathered her bag together and re-did her hair and make-up- there was no way she was going out with five-hour-old make-up on. She made her way outside, avoiding her parents and dawdling down to the grill, their house only a few streets away from the main part of the city.

Eventually she arrived at The Grill, the café was quiet because it was just after the after-school rush. She found a spot at a table in the corner and put her bag down, taking out her books and a calculator and sitting them on the table, taking one look at the first question she had to answer and immediately pulling out her phone, checking Facebook. She would just be on for a few minutes and then get back to work.

After a while, she looked up and noticed it had gotten a lot darker outside. She checked the time- she had been on Facebook for almost an hour.

She quickly put the phone down and picked up a pencil, re-reading the first question repeatedly, hoping each time the question would make more sense however, it just got more confusing.

"Algebra can be a pain."

Jesy looked up, spying a guy sitting a few seats away from her. He hadn't been there when she came in, however he had a plate with a half-eaten sandwich on it and a cappuccino half drunk, so he must have been there for a while.

"Tell me about it," Jesy responded, plainly.

He smiled, causing Jesy to smile before she quickly stopped. He had golden blonde hair and a pale completion, with caramel eyes and wearing a sharp shirt and jeans. He looked trendy; however, there was an element of intelligence about him also.

"I've been stuck on the same question for ages now," Jesy continued, looking down at the question again and tapping the end of the pencil against the page.

"What's the question?" he asked, leaning over as Jesy slid the book slightly towards him, before reading out, "_What is the value of A if S=4 and Y=0.3_? Well that's simple, you just add up the sides of the shape and then substitute the number in before solving the equation."

Jesy lowered her eyes at him.

"Heh?" she asked, boggled.

He laughed.

"Did your teacher teach this to you?" he asked, slowly.

"Probably," Jesy responded, honestly. "However I was probably painting my nails, or texting people, or calling people. He's slightly deaf, so he doesn't even notice."

He laughed again, shaking his head.

"This is why you should concentrate in class," he stated, plainly.

"I know, but it's just so boring!" she exclaimed, looking back down at the equation.

_Add up the sides and then substitute. Add up the sides and then substitute_. Jesy kept repeating he words over in her head, before suddenly it all made sense. She typed in the equation in the calculator and she had an answer.

"Is it 94?" she asked him and he smiled.

"Yes, great work," he commended. "See, it's not hard."

"Yeah when you explain it," she stated. "If you were my teacher, this whole situation wouldn't exist."

He smiled.

"Thanks," he answered. "I don't know about teaching, but I've just started a math course at Hollis, so I been through this whole thing before."

Jesy's eyes widened. He looked more like a swimsuit model, not a mathematician.

"You're studying math!?" she cried, sounding much too shocked.

"I get a lot," he laughed, softly. "But I used to be awful at it. Then when I was fifteen, my parents got me this tutor and I fell in love with it."

Jesy couldn't believe her luck. He was not only completely gorgeous, but a complete genius also- and even though Jesy had never thought smart people were attractive before, this guy was quickly changing her mind.

"I'm Jesy," she said, suddenly.

"Chris," he introduced and Jesy smiled.

His name was attractive too.

"So… what about the second question?" Jesy found herself asking, before she could even remind herself she had a boyfriend.

"Well, it's similar to the first just with a few more variables," Chris began, scooting over to the seat beside her and looking down at the book.

Jesy watched as continued to explain the question and quickly decided that this distraction was much worse than Facebook, however something told her it would be just as addictive.

* * *

**I'll try and update more often if I can. ****Reviews are very welcome! **) x


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